Domestic wastewater used for agriculture in Armenia

Wastewater from a community of 10,000 is now being treated in a wastewater pond system, enabling the water to be used for irrigation and preventing land degradation and the pollution of underground water.

GWP Armenia set up this project, the first in the country based on the widely used biological lagoon treatment system, in Parakar (Armavir). Previously, only about five percent of the community's farmlands were cultivated because wastewater, bypassing the non-operating sewage pumping station, was discharged into the open irrigation canal. Now, the project has increased agricultural land by about 7.2 hectares by producing an additional 10 litre/second of irrigation water, thereby improving livelihoods and food security in the community. Community awareness of sustainable land management issues has been increased and hygiene improved.

The project has also enabled GWP Armenia to demonstrate its capacity as a provider of practical assistance to local communities to solve their emerging challenges.